Bandits I

A Large Fireball could only be released after Merlin stored three normal Fireball.

Therefore, Merlin swiftly performed three normal Fireball. When the gray horizontal frame in Awareness turned red, Merlin shrouded his Mind Power onto the Bell Pendant to further agitate the red horizontal frame.

"Large Fireball!"

In an instant, a burning sensation seemed to rise quickly. Fortunately, Merlin had already aimed Bell Pendant at the huge fireball. At the stimulation of Merlin's Mind Power, the Bell Pendant released a powerful force of attraction almost immediately.

This force of attraction immediately absorbed that huge fireball into the pendant.

Merlin was overjoyed. He promptly extended his Mind Power into the Bell Pendant. He found out that the huge fireball had indeed been stored inside one of those tiny cells firmly. Merlin only had to stimulate this huge fireball slightly with Mind Power to release it.

"It's a success, the Bell Pendant can endure Large Fireball!"

Merlin finally heaved a sigh of relief. There was a total of eighteen tiny cells inside of Bell Pendant. In other words, the pendant was able to store eighteen Large Fireball. This meant that Merlin could continuously release eighteen Large Fireball at his wish. Its tremendous force was beyond imagination.

"Very well, the Bell Pendant can definitely increase my combat ability substantially!"

Hence, Merlin started utilizing his Magic Power in the room to repeatedly release normal Fireball. He then stored each Large Fireball he attained into Bell Pendant. 

Although this process was troublesome and consumed an abundance of Magic Power, Merlin had the whole night to fill up all eighteen tiny cells left in Bell Pendant.

***************

Thick snow covered the field of an abandoned ranch. A few men dressed in white robes and silver armors sat in front of the fire, seemingly in the middle of a discussion.

The campfire blazed merrily, emitting bursts of heat that melted the surrounding snow into puddles.

These three men were thin. They all had golden masks on their face to conceal their appearances from sight. One of the shorter men threw a piece of firewood at the fire, and said with a sneer, "Oh, it's finally time to get started. But it's only a Wilson, a Second-level Fire Swordsman. Is he worth the three of us to strike at once?"

"Queiro, of course, there's no need to employ all three of us for just a Wilson. But, the church is involved this time, that's why we can't let our guard down."

"Relo, Angus, let me deal with Wilson later. I would like to see how long a mere nobleman from Blackwater City can endure my force."

"Alright, hush now, the both of you. The church does not care much about Blackwater City, let alone a mere Wilson. Still, Blackwater City forms a very favorable defensive circle with Grand City in the east and Rute City in the west. Therefore, we must take down these three cities at the least cost in order to cope with the possible intrusion from the Kingdom of Blackmoon during our temporary chaos."

The last man who spoke with authority appeared to be the leader of the three. The other two listened attentively when he spoke.

"Angus, Lord Bishop had instructed for you to be the leader of us three. Tell us exactly what we should do."

Angus looked up at the black void of space and said in a low voice, "Everything will be fine in Blackwater City under the inspection of Sir Jason. We're responsible for things outside of Blackwater City, and we must ensure there aren't any problems! Other towns lacking potential in strengths are not important enough to be of our concern, save for this Wilson's territory that even stationed a group of heavy armor knights. Allowing them into Blackwater City is not going to benefit Sir Jason's control on Blackwater City.

"That's why Lord Bishop commands us to keep Wilson in his territory forever, at all costs! God will bless us; the God of Light will always be with us!"

Angus's voice was cold. His body filled with the urge to kill.

"God of Light be with us!"

The other two men in golden masks suddenly stood up. Their expression solemn.

***************

Dawn had just broken when someone knocked on Merlin's bedroom door.

"Young Master Merlin, Lord Baron had asked for you to depart for Blackwater City at once."

A maidservant dressed in gray called out softly.

"Alright."

Merlin, on the other side of the door, was looking exhausted, his face as pale as a sheet. However, his eyes were gleaming with excitement.

That was because he had spent the whole night casting Fireball incessantly. He waited patiently while he replenished his Magic Power, and then continued casting more Fireball.

Hence, throughout the night, Merlin did not have time to even take forty winks. In spite of that, he managed to fill up every tiny cell in Bell Pendant before dawn. With this Bell Pendant, Merlin did not even have to use any Magic Power. With only a slight utilization of his Mind Power, he could continuously release eighteen Large Fireball.

Merlin rose to his feet. He used a thin linen rope to fasten the Bell Pendant and hung it in front of his chest. By doing so, it was convenient to release the spells in Bell Pendant without attracting too much attention.

"Isn't it too early to set off?"

Merlin left his room and went downstairs. He realized numerous knights standing closely next to each other was already waiting outside of the castle. Among them, those two hundred heavy armored knights stood out the most. They were trained personally under Old Wilson with painstaking effort. Their combat abilities were amazingly terrifying.

By now, Old Wilson, who was also dressed in his black armor, stood on the stone steps outside of the castle. He frowned slightly as Merlin came downstairs. "What's the matter? Have you not rest well last night?"

Merlin shook his head and smiled. "It's nothing. I haven't quite gotten used to the castle, that's all. Father, are you deploying all the knights away from the territory?"

"Not all, but only the heavy-armored knights. The rest are to stay here in order to protect the territory from those bandits!"

Old Wilson shook his head slightly. He was not planning to completely remove the defensive force within the territory.

"Eh? What's this noise?"

Old Wilson who was about to depart suddenly shifted his gaze to the distant. A chaotic noise muddled with irregular clatters of horses' hooves came to ear, as clouds of smoke and dust filled the air.

"Oh no, the bandits. Knights, ready to fight!"

Old Wilson's facial expression changed as he got hold of the situation, and immediately he shouted out the order.

Instantly, crowds of knights outside of the castle went on the alert. They drew the greatsword behind their back and got into a defensive formation. With utmost concentration, their gazes were affixed to the front.